“Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club” And The Importance of Identity Capital
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been both captivated and confused by the MTV Original Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club. If you’re not familiar with the new series, essentially about 12 or so nightlife professionals intern at Linday’s beach resort in Mykonos, Greece.
Even though the first season is coming to an end this coming Monday I pretty much have no show what criteria any of these people are being judged on. The show pretty much gives no explanation of what these people are supposed to be doing except “Representing The Lohan Brand”. This seems to involve selling cabanas, drinks, and entertaining VIP guests, but we don’t really know what the job really entails besides from this ambiguous job board description phrase. The viewers are given little indicators of the contestant’s performances except for hearing they are liked by Lindsay and her sassy but no-nonsense business partner Panos, who seems to be the one really in charge of the beach house.
While watching this show and having an existential crisis over why I’m wasting my time doing so, I read Dr. Meg Jay’s 20’s survival guide The Defining Decade, in which she discusses the concept of Identity Captial:
“ Identity capital is our collection of personal assets. It is the repertoire of individual resources that we assemble over time. These are the investments we make in ourselves, the things we do well enough, or long enough, that they become a part of who we are. Some identity capital goes on a résumé, such as degrees, jobs, test scores, and clubs. Other identity capital is more personal, such as how we speak, where we are from, how we solve problems, how we look. Identity capital is how we build ourselves — bit by bit, over time. Most important, identity capital is what we bring to the adult marketplace. It is the currency we use to metaphorically purchase jobs and relationships and other things we want.”
Essentially Identity Captial is what one can do in order to change their perception to others. For instance, soccer is a huge part of my identity capital because I often write, tweet, and talk about the beautiful game. For many, their identity capital is strengthened by not only what they do during their 9–5, but even more so by what they do during their 6pm-8am hours.
By giving both her contestants and the viewer little no indications of what metrics she judges performance by we can assume they are judged on Identity Capital. As a manager, Lindsay acts nearly exclusively on instinct and will make hire/fire decisions based on nothing but gut and if she likes the person.
For instance, despite being my personal favorite and the most interesting contestant on the show, Kailah’s time with Lindsay was doomed from the start. Based off on a conversation with another contestant about how at the end of the day everyone on the show is competing with each other (which is true by the way), Lindsay deems her as “fake” and “wanting her own show”, publicly humiliates her in front of her coworkers, and fires her for, of all reasons, having a messy room. Kayliah is the one character that actually challenges Lohan on her poor and impulsive management, and as a result, is sent packing after two episodes.
The last of these actions is an example of Lohan’s signature move in the series, the surprise visit; possibly the ultimate test of Identity Capital. By seeing how her employees act during their off hours, Lindsay believes herself to make key judgments on contestants which can be near impossible to overcome. The only employee that was able to change Lindsay’s mind about her after a rough start was Gabi, who despite being drunk in a bra when first meeting Lohan and getting into a fight with another contestant, finds herself in a pole position to continue with “The Lohan Brand”.
On Lindsay Lohan’s Beach House, contestants are not only doomed but saved by their Identity Capital. May, perceived as a clueless and ineffective employee, has her job saved because she has the same tattoo as Lohan’s sister. Brent, the show’s heel, and the barycenter of contestant drama get away with being a locker room cancer because he is perceived as a “top performer” by Lohan and Panos. On the other hand, his on again-off again girlfriend Sara’s Identity Captial consists of being seen as boy crazy and unfocused on the task at hand. Perhaps that is a double standard, but the show tends to portray May as a mediocre employee so who really knows.
When we’re not sure what we’re supposed to be doing, Identity Captial is even more paramount to success. There are no rules in Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club.Lohan rarely, if ever has one on one interactions with her employees. Her judgments, right or wrong, are based exclusively on perception. Next Monday, when Lohan and Panos pick four “winners” to continue with “The Lohan Brand” it will pretty much only be based on who Lindsay likes the most. While this seems pretty unfair, that’s just how the show, and a lot of life itself, works.
*For the record, think Billy, Aristotle, Alex, and Gabi are going to continue with “The Lohan Brand”. Brent may be a top performer, but his fight with Kyle in the next episode may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Also, there's no way The Lobster Lohan “saved” didn’t die. That might be the single dumbest moment in this show.*
